Soi New Plaza...

Soi New Plaza is perhaps a little less well known than some of the main nightspots in Pattaya but it is gaining in popularity. For those of you that do not know where it is located, you’ll find it opposite Soi 8 on Second Road. It runs inland to Soi Buakhao and it attracts a decent amount of footfall from people bar hopping from Soi 7&8 to the cheaper inland bars.

The thing that I like about Soi New Plaza is that it offers a slightly
different sort of vibe to other areas and, on occasion, there is a sense
of community there.

This is most apparent during the Christmas,
New Year period when the bars work together by organising a street
party. Neon decorations are strewn from one bar over to the next and a
single disco set up is organised so that the place feels like one venue
rather than a collection of venues fighting each other for available
customers.

Soi New Plaza Customers

The soi has long been known as a “cheap Charlie’s” destination due to the lower price of drinks there. The drinks are a little lower in price, but I didn’t notice too much difference with Soi 7&8. The standard price for a small beer is about 50 baht, and that is the same as most other places. Walking Street remains noticeably more expensive, but Soi Buakhao is noticeably cheaper, so I wouldn’t regard it as a particularly cheap destination. It does have that reputation though, and it does pull in the slightly more price conscious older crowd.

I’m guessing that a sizable proportion of the older customers that frequent Soi New Plaza are either long-term visitors or expats. You tend to see more people drinking with their Thai wives and girlfriends here and, to be honest, the local talent as regards bar girls is not the best. There are one or two bars employing some attractive ladies as you get closer to Soi Buakhao, but the busier half of the Soi is closer to Second Road, and there aren’t too many hotties working there…

I think that the high proportion of older long term visitors and expats probably explains, to some extent, the feel of a community in this nightspot. You get the impression that more of the patrons know each other.

Soi New Plaza Bars

The bars themselves are fairly typical of the standard beer-bar complex set-up that you see all over Pattaya, but the half of the Soi that is closest to Second Road is slightly different. You’ll find a long central island that divides the road in two; the bars located on that central island tend to be slightly cheaper than the bars that line the side of the road. They also get a bit more custom due to their central location.

If you enjoy a game of Pool, or any of the standard bar games then you’ll find plenty of options on the central island. If you want to stop for a bite to eat, then many of the bars on the side of the road are also restaurants, and a few of them are popular choices for an English breakfast in the morning. There’s a good range of food outlets to choose from including a Kebab/Pizza shop, a good Thai restaurant on the corner of Second Road called ‘Yiam Restaurant’, a coffee shop, Hot Dogs & Burgers and two Indian restaurants to choose from.

All in all, Soi New Plaza is a decent place, it’s well worth a visit and it seems to be getting better as time passes.